How Reality Rocked Gina Gershon

These days, there's no denying the PR power of reality-TV. Even stars who once turned up their noses at "unscripted drama" have begun using it to boost their careers. That includes Gina Gershon — the sexpot from Bound and Showgirls — who has her own six-part series, Rocked with Gina Gershon (Fridays at 10:30 pm on IFC). The documentary-style show offers a juicy peek inside Gershon's cross-country tour in support of her movie Prey for Rock & Roll. Of course, like many reality virgins, the actress-turned-rocker was initially skeptical about letting cameras follow her around.

"When people found out I was going on tour," Gershon recalls, "I had like three or four companies coming to me saying, 'Do you want to do a reality show?' To which I quickly said, 'No [expletive] way.' I'm really private. I may not seem that way, but anything that you read about my personal life in the press is probably a lie."

Still, the 42-year-old had her reasons for eventually caving in. "When IFC approached [me], I needed more money for the tour," she admits. "And I do a lot of [home] movies myself and I make videotapes. A lot of the camera work that you see, I did along with the other people. And if I'm going on tour, I've got to make a video of it. And I thought that could be interesting."

As the producer of Prey and Rocked, Gershon smartly ensured she'd get the last word on what viewers will see. "I have the final cut of what is being shown," she says proudly. "You are not going to see my personal life or fights backstage or anyone being humiliated." Darn!

"I'm not into that, and you don't see that anywhere," she adds. "Everyone got along pretty well. There were certain moments, but I didn't want people to feel bad. [So] I cut [them] out. I wanted it to be more like a home movie that I'm letting people watch."

Besides Rocked, she's also at work on a fall sitcom pilot with Nick Lachey (aka Mr. Jessica Simpson) called Hot Mamma. Plus, she's voicing a sexy cyborg on the Sci Fi cartoon Tripping the Rift and continuing with her music career. Despite the influx of new challenges, she takes it all in stride. "Why not? That's been my whole philosophy," she says. "At the end of the day, no one really cares anyway. You just have to do what makes you happy."